Page 27 - RusRPTSept23

Including Iran together with UAE in the new BRICS+ bloc adds a permanent political dimension to the commercial institution that is OPEC+ and increases the control the emerging geopolitical challenger has over crucial raw materials, as bne IntelliNews has followed in a series of "BRICS MATERIALS" articles.
Russia has invested a lot of effort in building on the Soviet-era good relations held with the Middle East, and as one of the few countries that is on friendly terms with both Iraq and Iran, as well as Syria, Russia is seen as an honest broker in the region.
China has also invested heavily in the region. In April, China, to a lot of surprise, successfully brokered a rapprochement between KSA and Iran. They had broken off diplomatic relations eight months earlier. Likewise, Syria returned to the Arab League in May after years of isolation.
Egypt is also an obvious choice for BRICS. It compliments South Africa well as together these two nations are the most prosperous in Africa. Cairo also has one foot in the Arab world, in addition to technically being an African country.
Egypt is heavily dependent on Moscow for oil, grain and other commodities and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has long since thrown his lot in with Putin. Sisi was co-host of Russia’s first Russia-Africa summit in Sochi in 2019 and was on stage with Putin at last year’s St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), as one of the few heads of state to make the effort to attend Russia's big event in the wake of the start of the war in Ukraine.
Ethiopia fits the same mould. It is the second most populous country in Africa after Nigeria and is also a close ally of Russia, depending on Moscow for commodities and for arms in its wars with neighbouring Eritrea.
Argentina was admitted at Brazil’s insistence. The country is Brazil’s largest trade partner and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has championed its cause as he sees it as a natural partner in South America.
"It is very important for Argentina to be in BRICS," Lula said in a live broadcast on social media from Johannesburg. That was the case despite the economic crisis the country is facing, Lula made clear. The IMF recently struck a $44bn rescue deal with Argentina. Lula has criticised it as “suffocating”. He would like to see the New Development Bank (NDB, formerly known as the BRICS Bank) take up Argentina’s cause.
Notable absences from the short list of new members include Indonesia, by far the most populous country in SE Asia after China, and Vietnam, with both countries close allies of Moscow in the region.
RUSSIA Country Report September 2023 www.intellinews.com